âBeing Neutral is Our Biggest Crimeâ - Global Coalition to Protect ...

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eat us, and burned the village. I got beaten severely. They beat me and broke my ribs and fingers. They also hit me on my head and I got many stitches. Even now my fingers hurt and I can no longer lift weights and do manual labor because my ribs are weak. After they beat me, they dragged me to [village name withheld] and left me there. My brother found me there and took me to Chinturu [for medical help]. They hit women and children also with lathis [wooden sticks]. They showed no mercy and even little children—two- and three-year-olds— were beaten. 285 A local activist from Warangal district described to us how he found a group of displaced persons who had been forcibly relocated from their hamlet in February 2006: I was walking past the forest checkpost and I found these people [IDPs] looking very scared and asked them what happened. Then they told me that the forest department officials had brought them from Domada and left them here. So I told them to come with me and helped them. 286 These evictions are particularly traumatic because the forest department forcibly relocates displaced persons without previous warnings or consultations. The Bhadrachalam divisional forest officer claimed that they “give notices—both written and oral” and “follow due procedure under section 20 of the Andhra Pradesh Forest Act.” 287 Displaced persons, however, say that they were not consulted to explore feasible alternatives to eviction and were given no warnings, written or oral. 288 In fact, many displaced persons say that they repeatedly have sought protection and assistance from government authorities, but their pleas have been ignored or have 285 Human Rights Watch interview with IDP-3 from Nendra (who chose to remain anonymous), village K7, Khammam district, December 5, 2007. 286 Human Rights Watch interview with a local activist (name withheld), village W7, Warangal district, December 1, 2007. 287 Human Rights Watch interview with B. Shafiullah, December 7, 2007. 288 None of the IDPs who were evicted reported any notice by government, written or oral. 89 Human Rights Watch July 2008
met with further retributive measures. 289 After the IDP settlement in Kothooru was burned, as described above, residents said that they even wrote a letter to the Integrated Tribal Development Agency but there was no response. 290 When displaced persons in another hamlet sought police action against forest department and local villagers who burned their hamlet, not only did the police ignore their complaint and allow forest department officials and local villagers to destroy their hamlet again, but the police also forced them to withdraw their complaint and slapped additional charges on them. One of the displaced persons said, Immediately, about two or three days after the incident [burning of hamlet], the police called everyone to the police station and made us sign papers. Later we were told that it was the razinama [settlement between parties] saying that we agreed to withdraw the case. Then they booked a case against the five of us who had gone to the police station to complain … for illegally occupying the land. We were produced before the magistrate in Bhadrachalam and were in jail for 12 days. I got my relative to stand as surety for us and we were released on bail. 291 A resident of Warangal district stated that he was part of a group of local villagers who met with forest department officials to dissuade them from forcibly relocating the displaced. Forest department officials threatened them and sent the group back. He said, We are tribals. They [IDPs] are also tribals. So we asked them [forest department officials] why they are treating our fellow tribals like this— why they are differentiating between us. Forest officers did not listen to us. Instead they threatened us and said that since we had invited them here they would file charges against us. We found out that they 289 Human Rights Watch group interviews with numerous IDPs from different villages in Dantewada and Bijapur districts, villages K5, K7, Kothooru, and K8, Khammam district, December 4-7, 2007. 290 Human Rights Watch group interview with Prakash (pseudonym) and another villager (who chose to remain anonymous), IDPs from Kannaiguda, Kothooru, Khammam district, December 4, 2007. 291 Human Rights Watch interview with IDP-3 from Nendra (who chose to remain anonymous), village K7, Khammam district, December 5, 2007. “Being Neutral is Our Biggest Crime” 90
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India “Being Neutral is Our Bigge
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Copyright © 2008 Human Rights Watc
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VI. Plight of Persons Displaced by
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© 2008 John Emerson “Being Neutr
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Gram Panchayat/ Panchayat ICCPR ICE
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of villages in Bijapur and Dantewad
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Since 2006 local nongovernmental or
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Frightened, many villagers hid for
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Salwa Judum, particularly Salwa Jud
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of camp residents and other displac
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Vanvasi Chetna Ashram, People’s U
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egion between June 2005 and June 20
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through underground village committ
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health care. 17 Census data from 20
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The Naxalite problem has led to lac
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egular battalion to counter Naxalit
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NGO fact-finding teams have also ap
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The ‘Salva Judum’ movement is p
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persons also gave Human Rights Watc
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Sometimes senior police officials,
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were sick we had to go and report i
Page 43 and 44: to our village had bows and arrows,
Page 45 and 46: All able-bodied men had to particip
Page 47 and 48: them with escorts. We go with them
Page 49 and 50: there [pointing to a location about
Page 51 and 52: V. Abuses by the State Although the
Page 53 and 54: and my sister’s in the fields. My
Page 55 and 56: camps. 109 Two SPOs came forward to
Page 57 and 58: Gangi, one of the villagers, said t
Page 59 and 60: weeks [from the first visit to the
Page 61 and 62: One of the boys got beaten a lot wi
Page 63 and 64: A woman from Nendra said she saw th
Page 65 and 66: member of the fact-finding team tha
Page 67 and 68: In 2006 the Chhattisgarh government
Page 69 and 70: under Indian penal law. 163 Many NG
Page 71 and 72: independent and report because ther
Page 73 and 74: eing beaten up by Salwa Judum membe
Page 75 and 76: the country, to liberty and freedom
Page 77 and 78: electricity, adult literacy centres
Page 79 and 80: only 10 health workers to attend to
Page 81 and 82: dependent upon the state for their
Page 83 and 84: camps were started. 233 Assuming th
Page 85 and 86: Impediments to return The Chhattisg
Page 87 and 88: villagers’ access to markets maki
Page 89 and 90: 1. Prior to carrying out evictions,
Page 91 and 92: our huts. About 10 forest departmen
Page 93: A volunteer with an NGO that provid
Page 97 and 98: Despite the court’s orders, fores
Page 99 and 100: for at least 100 days a year. 303 T
Page 101 and 102: In many places, displaced persons d
Page 103 and 104: Naxalites beat and kill villagers,
Page 105 and 106: that they rubbed small stones [grav
Page 107 and 108: Similarly, Naxalites beat and haras
Page 109 and 110: not kill my uncle. They threatened
Page 111 and 112: 100 meters. The tractor driver—an
Page 113 and 114: near the Boddiguda dam. We were abo
Page 115 and 116: Errabore camp on July 17, 2006, whe
Page 117 and 118: E. CPI (Maoist) Party statements Hu
Page 119 and 120: for this reason we are compelled to
Page 121 and 122: The Naxalites do not deny the recru
Page 123 and 124: I have seen SPOs younger than me in
Page 125 and 126: The recruitment process The nationa
Page 127 and 128: I became an SPO last year in March
Page 129 and 130: of them. My brother actually surviv
Page 131 and 132: Maraiguda stated that he was ordere
Page 133 and 134: The Chhattisgarh state government r
Page 135 and 136: ecruitment, but Naxalites pressure
Page 137 and 138: When he was part of the bal sangam
Page 139 and 140: I joined when I was 15 years old. I
Page 141 and 142: When Veka Idma was about age 12 or
Page 143 and 144: later on when I became a dalam memb
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Naxalites’ policy regarding recru
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IX. Impact of the Conflict on Educa
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other villages which do not have sc
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The ITDA project officer for Khamma
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uses all authority at its disposal
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To the Chhattisgarh state governmen
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• Release complete information, u
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• Cooperate with UNICEF and other
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HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH 350 Fifth Avenue
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) Chhattisgarh government assists t
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protect the rights of the displaced
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HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH 350 Fifth Avenue
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government investigated any allegat
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“Being Neutral is Our Biggest Cri
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We acknowledge with gratitude the f
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